UPANISHADS AND BHAKTI

The philosophy of Upanishads as already shown is not confined to advaitavedanta or

any Vedanta system. In Upanishads we have dry metaphysics as well as the sentiment of
bhakti. The brahmasutras also can be interpreted either way. There are scholars who maintain
a view that bhakti was developed at the period of Vedas. The mantas- vedic hymns-praises
deities. This could be a primitive form of premabhakti the submissive devotion towards a
deity. Still other group maintains a view that bhakti promoted by the satvatas, emerged as a
reaction against the Vedic ritualism side by side with Buddhism (of Sakya clan) and Jainism
(of Lichavi clan). It was a reformative movement from inside. They never departed or
denounced the Vedic tradition or the value system of Brahmins. But they challenged the
supremacy of ritualism and suggested bhakti as the means to attain moksha. The worldly
prosperity was inferior to moksha, according to them. These sect consider vaikhanasa and
pancharatra agamas as their scripture and to them these are equal to Vedas. These texts
explains the construction of temples, worship of deities, duties and methods of rituals and
offerings.
Similar to the doctrine of the satvatas we have some references about devotion in
Upanishads. Upanishads discusses about various types of upasanas to attain the knowledge
of brahman. The contextual meaning of the term upasana is meditation. Meditation is
thinking about an object thoroughly and continuously or keeping always, an object or concept
in mind without any modification or brake. The brhadaranyaka upanishat opens with a
symbolic description of Asvamedha where the sacrifice is illustrated as an upasana to control
mind, which in turn will result in moksha. In chandogyopanishad we have many such
examples. In one of the dialogues of chandogyopanishad, the 7
th
chapter, between
Sanatkumara and Narada we can see the beginning of theology and theist devotion. The
svetasvataropanishad for the first time introduces the word bhakti in entire Upanishadic
literature, where it means absolute faith in God. Bhagavad-Gita caries forward this idea
expands to its maximum at a later period.